Alex Destrieux as an invited researcher in Brno
The treatment of organic materials for photovoltaics is the research topic of Alex Destrieux. After finishing his PhD in Canada, the French scientist came to Brno to continue his work.
Collaboration with Şişecam Science, Technology and Design Center
Richard Krumpolec established a new collaboration with Şişecam, one of the largest producer of flat glass in Europe. The scientists tested the potential of plasma surface treatment on bond strength behavior of an adhesively bonded glass-polymer interface directly at Şişecam Science, Technology, and Design Center.
Dr. Richard Krumpolec returned with new contacts from last year's Glass Performance Days (GPD) 2023 conference in Finland. He managed to establish a new collaboration with Şişecam a global glass and chemicals company. At GPD 2023, Richard Krumpolec and Dušan Kováčik presented the potential of plasma treatment and plasma surface engineering to solve selected technological problems in their presentations.
Şişecam is a major global player in the fields of glass and chemicals. Şişecam is the only global company operating in all core areas of glass production – including flat glass, glassware, glass packaging and glass fiber. Currently, Şişecam is the world’s leading manufacturer of glassware and one of the top five producers of glass packaging and flat glass. Şişecam is one of the three largest soda producers in the world and the world leader in chromium chemicals. Since its foundation in 1935, the company has grown steadily. Today, it operates in 14 countries on four continents and employs more than 24,000 people.
Invited by Şişecam, a three-member team from the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology and the CEPLANT center visited Şişecam Science, Technology and Design Center in Turkey. Richard Krumpolec and his PhD student Jianyu Feng were accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Dušan Kováčik – the head of the Plasma Nanotechnologies and Bioapplications research group at DPPT. A long preparation and planning preceded this week-long trip in the last week of April 2024.
Before the trip to Istanbul, the scientists carried out a very long preparation and trial experiments on testing samples in the home laboratories of DPPT and CEPLANT. "After these pilot tests, we planned specific and targeted experiments to be carried out directly in the factory together with our colleagues from Şişecam Science Technology and Design Center. The company representatives knew what they needed and where the technological problems were in their production," comments Richard Krumpolec.
The scientists toured the Şişecam Science, Technology and Design Center on the first day of the week-long visit. They held numerous discussions with the various scientific teams. Experiments carried out in Turkey tested the effect of plasma systems and technologies developed by CEPLANT for glass and polymer treatment. The CEPLANT Centre develops these plasma systems and technologies for various applications such as coatings on glass, surface cleaning of glass, or improvement of glass fiber-based composites. This collaboration aims to improve the bond strength performance of an adhesively bonded glass-plastic interface of automotive components.
